<p>I've been wrestling with this topic for the last 4 or 5 months.. Could someone tell me how a liberal arts college will be different from a university. I know the difference in student body size, and my brother's told me its like an upgraded version of highschool since you learn a bit of everything. My mom does not want me to apply to liberal arts colleges for some reason when my time comes. I'm really confused.</p>
<p>your brother is wrong. The degree to which your university/LAC experience is similar to high school will depend upon the rigor of the two institutions. With the exception of a specialized schools/programs (e.g. engineering, speech therapy), there is extensive overlap between the list of requirements for majors offered at and University. Indeed the top LAC are major feeders of top graduate programs in humanities and sciences. Compile outcome data (acceptance & completion rates, acceptances to grad and professional programs etc) and present it to your mother. I think it will reveal that the performance of the top LAC (Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin) is similar to the ivies.</p>
<p>ah I now see, thank you very much.</p>
<p>another question would be, major-choice wise, if you didn’t have a clear cut choice of major you want to take, would it be better to go to a big university since they have variety of majors to choose from? or does it not matter whether you go to LAC or a univ?</p>
<p>It usually does matter if you are considering a major in a pre-professional, applied subject such as Engineering, Nursing, Architecture, Agriculture, Communications, Business, etc. (not liberal arts and science fields such as English, Economics, Biology or Physics).</p>
<p>It also matters, usually, if you think you might want to pursue certain specialized arts & science areas such as Tibetan Studies or Zoology as an undergraduate (though, depending on the field, there may be a couple of LACs with strength in it.)</p>
<p>If you are undecided as to what major to take, LAC would be a good choice for 2 reasons. firstly, LACs want their students to explore different fields and find out what is best for them- thats why their curriculums are generally broad. And secondly, the LAC professors are much more caring than their big university counterparts and they can give personal suggestions in choosing your major.</p>
<p>Your likely major will decide whether a LAC is right for you. Many LACs do not have Business degrees, Engineering degrees, etc.</p>
<p>What is your likely major and future career?</p>
<p>Some LACs are 50/50 male/female, while some are heavily leaning female. Some men like that, some don’t.</p>
<p>In general - very general, because this isn’t always true of either kind of school - a university has graduate divisions whereas a liberal arts college doesn’t. The difference may be that the focus at the university is more on the graduate students and the research the school produces, whereas liberal arts colleges will focus on the undergraduate education since you’re really the only thing to focus on, lol. It really depends on the university, though - some universities like Princeton and Rice are very focused on undergraduate education, and some LACs like Simmons have graduate programs.</p>
<p>Universities and liberal arts colleges both have the ‘liberal arts education,’ which is that program that makes you take a little of everything - or more specifically, you’ll probably have to take at least a math class, an English class, a foreign language, and one or two classes in fine arts, in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities regardless of your major. There are some schools (like Brown) where are virtually no requirements like that, whereas other schools (like Columbia) actually dictate which of those classes you have to take through their Core Curriculum. Most schools fall somewhere in the spectrum between those extremes.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go so far as to say that LAC professors are more caring. On average, I’d say they’re probably more invested in undergraduate education, but depending on the school you may get very good guidance from university professors. Professors are all individuals and they’re going to range the gamut from caring to uncaring no matter where you go.</p>
<p>Most LACs these days have business majors, and many of them have engineering programs either of their own or through a 3-2 program with an engineering school. Also, I don’t think it’s a good idea to pick a college based on “likely major” or “future career” because you’re just 18 (or younger) and don’t know what those are yet, and they’re likely to change by the time you actually get to your sophomore year. My high school yearbook says I am going to major in biology and go to medical school (lol, I definitely didn’t do that). I changed my mind a few weeks after I arrived on campus. I do think it’s a good idea to think about the kinds of majors you like because you will likely stay within the same area. My first serious major was political science; I later changed to sociology, and then psychology. They’re all social science majors.</p>
<p>From my daughter’s experience with the few LACs that she applied to, LACs did not have a lot of majors that she wanted to major in.</p>
<p>Juillet has given a very good description of the differences. But one real big factor is size. For the most part (once again a general statement) most LACs have less than 2000 students. Most Universities have over 5000 with many having well over 20,000. It is important that you know which kind of environment/experience is right for you.</p>
<p>I have 2 daughters in College. The older on is a senior at Lewis & Clark College in Portland OR. A very good LAC with a student body of around 1900. There is a graduate school of law and one for education nearby but basically she attends a school along with 1900 undergrads. She knew she was interested in majoring in Spanish, Latin American Studies, Sociology or Anthropology and this school has met her needs. They are also very strong in the sciences. The big factor for her though was size. She would not go to a school with a student body over 2000. That was her comfort zone. She has loved getting to know her profs, many have become friends. She has enjoyed the small class size and there is no limitation on taking other classes out of her area. Science majors can be in plays, History majors can do biology research. There are no boundaries like there can be at a big uni where only theater majors can do theater or only engineering students have access to certain classes.</p>
<p>My younger daughter is a sophomore at UCLA. She never in a million years would have gone to a LAC. But the reason has less to do with intended major and everything to do with size. We live in a small town, both daughters went to small high schools (total 500-600 students) and this daughter was ready for a big school, big school spirit, big student body and all the excitement that goes along with it. She wasn’t sure of her major at first but because even at UCLA (unless you go in a an engineering or pre-med type major) you will get a liberal arts education and can decide after a year or so. She knew that whatever she wanted she would be able to find at UCLA. Also she just wanted to be surrounded by thousands of bright, interesting students. </p>
<p>So both schools have worked out for my daughters but it has had less to do with intended major and more to do with school size, class size, support of profs and administration and size of the school community. So it is important that you have an idea of what atmosphere you would thrive in as this is an individual thing. </p>
<p>I think a well respected LAC with a variety of majors would serve most people very well and a huge university that could be overwhelming and that requires you to be a very motivated self starter is not always that best route. Figure out which type of school is best for you and go from there. Visit many schools, stay overnight if you can and see what feels right for you.</p>